Pearl Howie's Blog, page 6
October 2, 2017
Weekly Newsletter - Getting out there (especially dating)
Instantly know what I���m doing on Instagram
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click here to get my newsletter emailed to you direct http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
Dear Wonderful Friends,
So I've just made my guidebook to Japan ��� "Japan Is Very Wonderful" available as a downloadable ebook on Lulu���
���and my new book "Camino de la Luna ��� Take What You Need" which tells the story of what happened when I left Wimbledon last year is finally on Amazon as a print on demand book. (I'll also be making this a downloadable ebook as it is very expensive as print on demand!)
And daily I'm emailing places and people to set up other gigs.�� I'm getting a lot of knock backs, but I've been here before.�� You should have seen me trying to set up my Zumba Gold chair classes!�� Zumba Gold was different because I already had people in my regular classes who wanted to give it a go (or who didn't really want to do the "old lady" class but trusted me enough to try it once because I promised they could go back to the other class if it didn't suit them).�� But even then groups like Age UK did not want to know.�� I was the first person to put a Zumba Gold class on the zumba.com website in Merton.�� And Zumba Gold chair was the TOUGHEST sell.�� I called groups (nope), I emailed countless old people's homes offering FREE demos!�� (Getting into schools to teach kids was waaaaaay easier.)�� It was so frustrating because I'd worked with so many disabled people, and I knew I could make exercise fun for them, knew I could give them something pretty special and no one would give me a chance.
So here's what happened finally.�� I was invited to a special awards ceremony for community volunteers in Merton.�� I'd been volunteering for a few years supporting carers and we were being given an award.�� I raced over, still in my Zumba gear and sat in an auditorium while the prizes were handed out.�� And then I heard it - a�� club for older people - being run by the mayor!!�� So, as she stood with us for photos, I pitched her!! (Man, it's funny it sounds like a big business deal, not desperately trying to offer a free class - but sometimes you can't even GIVE stuff away!!)�� She said yes, they'd like to see what I could do!
And so that's how I started teaching Zumba Gold chair, and as I set off for the class all I could think was "Aaargh what have I done?"�� But it wasn't as bad as I thought - it was worse.�� You haven't been heckled till you've been heckled by a ninety year old in a wheelchair - what do you say back to that!!�� But eventually I realised the heckling was actually because she liked me and yes, she could dish it out but she could take it too.�� Some of the best times of my life and certainly the moments when I felt I was serving my life's purpose were in those classes.
These were actually the classes it was toughest to teach when I "woke up to myself" last year because all I could think was "what am I doing here?�� I need to go and do all the things I want to do in life while I can."�� And of course these were the guys that said "Yes, do it, before you get sick or older and can't climb mountains."�� But now I've climbed enough mountains.
So what on earth has that got to do with dating?�� Well, I was talking to someone about climbing and, as she said, it's one thing to climb a scary mountain but, for her, the idea of dating again after a break is truly terrifying.
On my trip this year I've been hit on A LOT.�� I gave up wearing make up, do not wear that many hot clothes, in fact I am generally windswept, sweaty, in walking boots and carrying a rucksack.�� Who knew this would turn on so many guys (and a few really pretty girls!�� Thank you for the compliment.)�� I have NEVER experienced this before, perhaps it's just being myself?
Anyway, mostly it's been no, because I've usually been leaving (and I'll be honest, I'm still figuring out how to handle all the social media approaches), but there have been a couple of times, a couple of guys who I've been able to hang out with a bit and even have a couple of dates.�� One of which was so special, one of the best dates of my life, someone I was so sad to leave behind.�� But I also figured out why, to understand certain things in my life I had to separate from the people I loved, had to have all those goodbyes, and what it was all about.
So, I'm ready, I think.�� Does it fill me with fear, the idea of dating?�� Well, yesterday I called back someone who asked me to come for a cup of tea - was it a friendly request or something more?�� There was no answer, but I'll try again, it wasn't that scary.�� And then, well I'll just show up and see what happens.�� It could be good, it could be bad but I don't think it can be as scary as that first Zumba Gold chair class! �� (Unless he has a ninety year old grandma sitting in the corner heckling us!)
Oh��� and a few years later when I looked on zumba.com there were 22!!! Zumba Gold classes listed on zumba.com so yes, it was so worth putting myself out there and getting those classes going��� and going��� and going���
Lots of love, Pearl x
Upcoming Events
Tuesday 10th October Paris
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click here to get my newsletter emailed to you direct http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
Dear Wonderful Friends,
So I've just made my guidebook to Japan ��� "Japan Is Very Wonderful" available as a downloadable ebook on Lulu���
���and my new book "Camino de la Luna ��� Take What You Need" which tells the story of what happened when I left Wimbledon last year is finally on Amazon as a print on demand book. (I'll also be making this a downloadable ebook as it is very expensive as print on demand!)
And daily I'm emailing places and people to set up other gigs.�� I'm getting a lot of knock backs, but I've been here before.�� You should have seen me trying to set up my Zumba Gold chair classes!�� Zumba Gold was different because I already had people in my regular classes who wanted to give it a go (or who didn't really want to do the "old lady" class but trusted me enough to try it once because I promised they could go back to the other class if it didn't suit them).�� But even then groups like Age UK did not want to know.�� I was the first person to put a Zumba Gold class on the zumba.com website in Merton.�� And Zumba Gold chair was the TOUGHEST sell.�� I called groups (nope), I emailed countless old people's homes offering FREE demos!�� (Getting into schools to teach kids was waaaaaay easier.)�� It was so frustrating because I'd worked with so many disabled people, and I knew I could make exercise fun for them, knew I could give them something pretty special and no one would give me a chance.
So here's what happened finally.�� I was invited to a special awards ceremony for community volunteers in Merton.�� I'd been volunteering for a few years supporting carers and we were being given an award.�� I raced over, still in my Zumba gear and sat in an auditorium while the prizes were handed out.�� And then I heard it - a�� club for older people - being run by the mayor!!�� So, as she stood with us for photos, I pitched her!! (Man, it's funny it sounds like a big business deal, not desperately trying to offer a free class - but sometimes you can't even GIVE stuff away!!)�� She said yes, they'd like to see what I could do!
And so that's how I started teaching Zumba Gold chair, and as I set off for the class all I could think was "Aaargh what have I done?"�� But it wasn't as bad as I thought - it was worse.�� You haven't been heckled till you've been heckled by a ninety year old in a wheelchair - what do you say back to that!!�� But eventually I realised the heckling was actually because she liked me and yes, she could dish it out but she could take it too.�� Some of the best times of my life and certainly the moments when I felt I was serving my life's purpose were in those classes.
These were actually the classes it was toughest to teach when I "woke up to myself" last year because all I could think was "what am I doing here?�� I need to go and do all the things I want to do in life while I can."�� And of course these were the guys that said "Yes, do it, before you get sick or older and can't climb mountains."�� But now I've climbed enough mountains.
So what on earth has that got to do with dating?�� Well, I was talking to someone about climbing and, as she said, it's one thing to climb a scary mountain but, for her, the idea of dating again after a break is truly terrifying.
On my trip this year I've been hit on A LOT.�� I gave up wearing make up, do not wear that many hot clothes, in fact I am generally windswept, sweaty, in walking boots and carrying a rucksack.�� Who knew this would turn on so many guys (and a few really pretty girls!�� Thank you for the compliment.)�� I have NEVER experienced this before, perhaps it's just being myself?
Anyway, mostly it's been no, because I've usually been leaving (and I'll be honest, I'm still figuring out how to handle all the social media approaches), but there have been a couple of times, a couple of guys who I've been able to hang out with a bit and even have a couple of dates.�� One of which was so special, one of the best dates of my life, someone I was so sad to leave behind.�� But I also figured out why, to understand certain things in my life I had to separate from the people I loved, had to have all those goodbyes, and what it was all about.
So, I'm ready, I think.�� Does it fill me with fear, the idea of dating?�� Well, yesterday I called back someone who asked me to come for a cup of tea - was it a friendly request or something more?�� There was no answer, but I'll try again, it wasn't that scary.�� And then, well I'll just show up and see what happens.�� It could be good, it could be bad but I don't think it can be as scary as that first Zumba Gold chair class! �� (Unless he has a ninety year old grandma sitting in the corner heckling us!)
Oh��� and a few years later when I looked on zumba.com there were 22!!! Zumba Gold classes listed on zumba.com so yes, it was so worth putting myself out there and getting those classes going��� and going��� and going���
Lots of love, Pearl x
Upcoming Events
Tuesday 10th October Paris
September 28, 2017
Weekly Newsletter - You Are Invited!
Instantly know what I���m doing on Instagram
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click here to get my newsletter emailed to you direct http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
Book signing and talk by Pearl Howie author of "free Feeling Real Emotions Everyday" and a bunch of other stuff (in English)
Tuesday 10th October
7-8pm Welcome and Book Signing
8-9pm Talk
Corcoran's Sacr��-C��ur
9-11 Rue Foyatier, 75018 Paris, France
In April 2016 I woke up to the fact that I was living my life according to what everyone else told me was true - and I was desperately unhappy. This book is everything I realised at that time, which I wrote down to remind me, if I lost my way again, of how to be free. Of how not to get caught up again in a life of what I "should" be doing.
And then everything changed, I sold my house of 22 years, let go of my business, and for some bizarre reason that I didn't understand then, I decided to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain, in winter - the worst time to go, everyone told me.
And that's how I started, living out of a rucksack, becoming a digital nomad, travelling around the world, breaking beliefs and confronting the fears that had kept me from living my life in a way that was true to myself. And learning a lot about life and love along the way.
Tickets for just the event are free, but please send me your name for the guest list to pearl@pearlescapes.co.uk
Tickets including a signed copy of the book are ���20 - full colour, first edition. Please book and pay for your ticket via PayPal before Thursday 5th October to guarantee your copy - pearl@pearlescapes.co.uk (��10 from the sale of the first 50 copies is going to Mexican earthquake relief.)
And if you can't make it then please do invite me to come and speak at your group or event whilst I'm in Paris. I'm new - I need the practice!
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Upcoming Events
Tuesday 10th October Paris
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click here to get my newsletter emailed to you direct http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
Book signing and talk by Pearl Howie author of "free Feeling Real Emotions Everyday" and a bunch of other stuff (in English)
Tuesday 10th October
7-8pm Welcome and Book Signing
8-9pm Talk
Corcoran's Sacr��-C��ur
9-11 Rue Foyatier, 75018 Paris, France
In April 2016 I woke up to the fact that I was living my life according to what everyone else told me was true - and I was desperately unhappy. This book is everything I realised at that time, which I wrote down to remind me, if I lost my way again, of how to be free. Of how not to get caught up again in a life of what I "should" be doing.
And then everything changed, I sold my house of 22 years, let go of my business, and for some bizarre reason that I didn't understand then, I decided to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain, in winter - the worst time to go, everyone told me.
And that's how I started, living out of a rucksack, becoming a digital nomad, travelling around the world, breaking beliefs and confronting the fears that had kept me from living my life in a way that was true to myself. And learning a lot about life and love along the way.
Tickets for just the event are free, but please send me your name for the guest list to pearl@pearlescapes.co.uk
Tickets including a signed copy of the book are ���20 - full colour, first edition. Please book and pay for your ticket via PayPal before Thursday 5th October to guarantee your copy - pearl@pearlescapes.co.uk (��10 from the sale of the first 50 copies is going to Mexican earthquake relief.)
And if you can't make it then please do invite me to come and speak at your group or event whilst I'm in Paris. I'm new - I need the practice!
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Upcoming Events
Tuesday 10th October Paris
August 9, 2017
Weekly Newsletter - If Paris Matters To You
Instantly know what I���m doing on Instagram
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click here to get my newsletter emailed to you direct http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For upcoming events please see the bottom of the email - please note I am no longer teaching weekly Zumba classes, although may have some retreats and masterclasses coming soon! Anything is possible.
My Dear Friends,
I hope you're enjoying this wonderful summer time - it's certainly been a mixed bag of weather for us in England!�� But as they say in Iceland there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes - so perhaps I had the wrong clothes when I decided to go and spend a few days near the beach without a coat last week - it was very wet and windy and the sea was the roughest I'd ever seen it.�� But I had the most glorious time because I'd come to the beach to get down to work on my new book (the day before I'd try to get out on the South Downs at a youth hostel, but I couldn't find it!�� Luckily a very kind couple gave me a ride back to town in their convertible which was nice and then I went back to stay with family another night before heading off again.)
Turns out, of course, that it was the perfect spot for me, not just because it's the place I feel most at home and the ferocious weather kept me head down (either at my laptop working or taking a nap in the rain) but because it is a book house, full of books and mugs and even a door sign saying "Go Away I'm Writing" and the wonderful lady who hosted me through AirBnB is a writer who loves to host other writers on retreat.�� She absolutely gets it, and loves libraries and words and just the beauty of communicating and sharing the love through books (as well as through comfy pillows and an incredible vegan breakfast spread!)
Anyway, as I arrived, so grateful to be in a world of words, where the biggest temptation was to pull a book off the shelf and read for three days, I asked myself (and her) why do we need to come on retreat, why do I need to be here, there, when I also know I can (and do) work anywhere sometimes.�� Why do I need to head off into the woods or to the beach or to library, when I have tea and comfort and wifi pretty much anywhere I lay my head?
Why do we need retreats for anything?
And the answer came to me very shortly afterwards.
Because in going on a writing retreat I was making this true - "my writing matters" and, just by making that real, I could finish writing my book.
Just as in going to a Zumba class we say "my fitness matters", "my health matters", "my wellbeing matters".
You can see where I'm going, perhaps.
I'm going to Paris, to do an event or two about my books around the 17th September, and if Paris matters to you, either because you've never been or it's been a while, or for whatever reason, but you need a helping hand, I'm here for you.�� (Even if you just want to come along to one of the Paris book events when I send out the invite to those!)
This escape will be self-directed - you decide what you need.�� It's not going to be a program of seminars or 24/7 hand holding (because I have a lot to do when I'm in Paris!), instead I'm going to take an idea from one of my greatest teachers which goes like this...�� You can book some time with me, either on the phone or face to face, either beforehand or in Paris to help you make the most of your trip. ��
I've already written a guide to Paris which is now free online (it's also on my website) from my last trip 5 years ago with my nieces and it shows you can definitely pack a lot of Paris into a one night stay, so you can easily just go pick this up and do Paris - if you don't need any more help.
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/Paris_Escape_With_Kids/Paris_Family_Break.html
I'm also going to offer something else for free - if you're interested in my help we can arrange a free 15 minute consultation call - no more than that because over the years I've had many people call me up about classes and stay on the line for an hour, and sadly these are often the people who never make it to class, so I find it's best to stick to the basics and do the rest in class.�� So 15 minutes for you if you find you are teetering between "Yes please" or "No thank you." (Just text me on 07770 846 284 to book a time for that chat or try to catch me if you can!)
I don't know what you need, perhaps help with booking your hotel (it doesn't have to be the same as mine), figuring out where to go (I've visited la plupart of the major tourist spaces in Paris but maybe not where calls to you), how to get there or how to get around, or maybe you just want to be able to go to a fabulous restaurant with someone who speaks half decent French (that's me) whilst you're there.�� It's up to you. ��
You pay for all of your own costs, and if you want to book some time with me it will start at ��200 for 4 hours, croissants not included.
So, if Paris matters to you, then I hope you do it, and I hope if you need some help you'll reach out and let me give you a helping hand, but if not, if something else matters to you, something you've been thinking about, I hope you take an action, maybe a retreat, or just book that class, or even set aside 5 minutes to start working on something you've been itching to do, because it matters, because your dreams matter, because whatever your heart is calling you to do matters, because, of course, and this is something I shouldn't have to tell anyone, you matter.
Lots of love, Pearl x
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Upcoming Events
Watch this space - but plans are underway for an event in Paris mid September.
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click here to get my newsletter emailed to you direct http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For upcoming events please see the bottom of the email - please note I am no longer teaching weekly Zumba classes, although may have some retreats and masterclasses coming soon! Anything is possible.
My Dear Friends,
I hope you're enjoying this wonderful summer time - it's certainly been a mixed bag of weather for us in England!�� But as they say in Iceland there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes - so perhaps I had the wrong clothes when I decided to go and spend a few days near the beach without a coat last week - it was very wet and windy and the sea was the roughest I'd ever seen it.�� But I had the most glorious time because I'd come to the beach to get down to work on my new book (the day before I'd try to get out on the South Downs at a youth hostel, but I couldn't find it!�� Luckily a very kind couple gave me a ride back to town in their convertible which was nice and then I went back to stay with family another night before heading off again.)
Turns out, of course, that it was the perfect spot for me, not just because it's the place I feel most at home and the ferocious weather kept me head down (either at my laptop working or taking a nap in the rain) but because it is a book house, full of books and mugs and even a door sign saying "Go Away I'm Writing" and the wonderful lady who hosted me through AirBnB is a writer who loves to host other writers on retreat.�� She absolutely gets it, and loves libraries and words and just the beauty of communicating and sharing the love through books (as well as through comfy pillows and an incredible vegan breakfast spread!)
Anyway, as I arrived, so grateful to be in a world of words, where the biggest temptation was to pull a book off the shelf and read for three days, I asked myself (and her) why do we need to come on retreat, why do I need to be here, there, when I also know I can (and do) work anywhere sometimes.�� Why do I need to head off into the woods or to the beach or to library, when I have tea and comfort and wifi pretty much anywhere I lay my head?
Why do we need retreats for anything?
And the answer came to me very shortly afterwards.
Because in going on a writing retreat I was making this true - "my writing matters" and, just by making that real, I could finish writing my book.
Just as in going to a Zumba class we say "my fitness matters", "my health matters", "my wellbeing matters".
You can see where I'm going, perhaps.
I'm going to Paris, to do an event or two about my books around the 17th September, and if Paris matters to you, either because you've never been or it's been a while, or for whatever reason, but you need a helping hand, I'm here for you.�� (Even if you just want to come along to one of the Paris book events when I send out the invite to those!)
This escape will be self-directed - you decide what you need.�� It's not going to be a program of seminars or 24/7 hand holding (because I have a lot to do when I'm in Paris!), instead I'm going to take an idea from one of my greatest teachers which goes like this...�� You can book some time with me, either on the phone or face to face, either beforehand or in Paris to help you make the most of your trip. ��
I've already written a guide to Paris which is now free online (it's also on my website) from my last trip 5 years ago with my nieces and it shows you can definitely pack a lot of Paris into a one night stay, so you can easily just go pick this up and do Paris - if you don't need any more help.
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/Paris_Escape_With_Kids/Paris_Family_Break.html
I'm also going to offer something else for free - if you're interested in my help we can arrange a free 15 minute consultation call - no more than that because over the years I've had many people call me up about classes and stay on the line for an hour, and sadly these are often the people who never make it to class, so I find it's best to stick to the basics and do the rest in class.�� So 15 minutes for you if you find you are teetering between "Yes please" or "No thank you." (Just text me on 07770 846 284 to book a time for that chat or try to catch me if you can!)
I don't know what you need, perhaps help with booking your hotel (it doesn't have to be the same as mine), figuring out where to go (I've visited la plupart of the major tourist spaces in Paris but maybe not where calls to you), how to get there or how to get around, or maybe you just want to be able to go to a fabulous restaurant with someone who speaks half decent French (that's me) whilst you're there.�� It's up to you. ��
You pay for all of your own costs, and if you want to book some time with me it will start at ��200 for 4 hours, croissants not included.
So, if Paris matters to you, then I hope you do it, and I hope if you need some help you'll reach out and let me give you a helping hand, but if not, if something else matters to you, something you've been thinking about, I hope you take an action, maybe a retreat, or just book that class, or even set aside 5 minutes to start working on something you've been itching to do, because it matters, because your dreams matter, because whatever your heart is calling you to do matters, because, of course, and this is something I shouldn't have to tell anyone, you matter.
Lots of love, Pearl x
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Upcoming Events
Watch this space - but plans are underway for an event in Paris mid September.
July 21, 2017
Weekly Newsletter - Excerpt from my new, new book (the third really if you don't count the prequel) what I learned from Hawaii and Venice (sometimes I have to go two, three or many places to really learn something)
Instantly know what I���m doing on Instagram
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click here to get my newsletter emailed to you direct http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For upcoming events please see the bottom of the email - please note I am no longer teaching weekly Zumba classes, although may have some retreats and masterclasses coming soon! Anything is possible.
My Beloved Friends,
Well, unfortunately I haven't been able to access my emails to reply to anything you've sent me after my last newsletter ��� I'm just in Cornwall at the moment, trying to see it before the school holiday masses descend (although it seems pretty full, I stayed two nights in almost the last bed in a female dorm in a hostel in Penzance and then last night in a four star luxury spa hotel near St Austell ��� it's heaven ��� especially after a stay in a hostel!) but still finding it difficult to get my internet connection!
It's hard for people (and even me) to understand why I do what I do, but it all works out in the end and it's bringing me back to the truth of who I am, not just a writer but being able to let go of so many things I've picked up in my life that are just not me.
But I also see that the travelling, even the writing is becoming more of a distraction, an addiction, from the next steps of the journey. I can feel it with travelling, it's when it starts to feel like just sightseeing or my heart pulls me on even if my brain says "Stay, it's wonderful here." I know I definitely have to go back to some of the places I've been, especially Hawaii. (There's a noise Monica makes in "Friends" about a guy ��� something like "hum un un unu" as in, "he's super hot" ��� that's how I feel about Hawaii.) Or sometimes my heart says "Stay" even though there are a hundred places I want to head to ��� and a little while later I know I was in the right place at the right time. But the books are not enough ��� and I hope you see that from what I write below, it���s like the Zumba manual or a DVD, there is absolutely nothing in this word like a live class ��� and that's what I need to bring to the world ��� a love class (oh wait that was a typo but it works!)���
So anyway, I got the proof for my new book last week (the second in the series if you don't count the prequel), so yes, I'll be working on printing that, but I'll also be working on my book tour and maybe some retreats too. It's about time I opened up my heart to fellow travellers like I did in the hostel the other day (but I may not be sharing with four other people anytime soon ��� that's a lot of people noises in the night!) although it was wonderful to meet so many friendly and interesting people there!
If you really want to get in touch with me, feel free to text me on 07770 846 284, I'm coming back from my sabbatical now (although I may be doing one more long haul before September so I apologise for any radio silence!)
Speak soon.
Lots of love, Pearl x
The Top Of The Mountain
As I sat on the top of the mountain at Lumeria in Maui I understood and felt the truth about what it is to love and be loved. I sat on the grass and meditated overlooking the sea and reached a point, a top of the mountain of feeling and being that was the highest I have yet experienced.
To try to put it in to words is to describe a meditation of enlightenment with the words "we are all one". If, in just saying these words, we could understood and feel this deep truth, well, pretty much all the retreat and meditation centres, not to mention yoga schools, bars and spas would go out of business. These are just words.
It is like me, standing now in Venice, telling you it's pretty, showing you my photographs, when I want you standing beside me, feeling the cold biting through your fingertips, the rush of hot coffee and Sicilian cannoli in your blood, the images of waterways burned into your retina as well as a hot pocket full of iPhone snaps. I want you to know what it is to wander dark streets, see black gondolas smacking against the waves in the night, to see the night reflected in tiny dank canals that hold no comfort before the dawn, when thoughts turn to bodies dropped out of windows and figures shrouded and masked for carnival, to know what it is to walk and find yourself in the right place all but for a few yards of canal with no bridge and to know you need to shoulder your bag, your life and retrace all those steps to get back to the place that you took a wrong turn. To feel the energy of a thousand artists honouring beauty, feel their passion for life till it makes you dizzy and a thousand murderers and ghosts that wake you up before dawn playing with your darkest fears. This is Venice. It is as far removed from the Venice of Las Vegas as your whole life and every breath you ever took from your last ID snapshot.
I will try.
I believe it's important and I believe that many of my teachers have tried to explain it to me, and I have learned it over and over, each time getting closer and closer to that moment.
As Mother Theresa said "There are things that cannot be seen or touched but must be felt with the heart."
I sat and meditated on the life of my beloved.
I had felt, travelling to Hawaii, the deep lie at the bottom of so many of my fears, of my refusals - like a horse refusing to jump when I could so easily have soared. I felt the deepest acceptance of myself just as I was in that moment. I have heard it said about grief that acceptance comes when we can see that death not as a life interrupted but as a life completed. I could see the journey of our relationship as completed because of where it brought me, but I could only arrive at this moment by accepting myself, himself and that relationship as perfect and complete. The butterfly had metamorphosed from the caterpillar, crawling through the most painful and messy period of transition, of meltdown and being both less and more than a single being and then become a thing of lightness and joy. I could see his life and him, not as something to be fixed or corrected, but as perfect, I could feel that every step he took was perfect.
This is love. To see each other, our most precious soulmate and the stranger smoking or drunk on the street, in the same way that we can know "we are all connected", to know "they are perfect and every step they take is perfect.��� It is letting go, in a way, but more than holding on or letting go it is finding a perfect balance, pona if you will, of holding a person in our heart without in any way trying to change them. Because we would be trying to improve on perfection. It would be like paving Venice or fixing every battered shuttered window or straightening the canals, or covering the sky and painting it a perfect sunny fresco like a Vegas Venice.
And it is sharing ourselves, our dark, our light, our stories with them when our heart tells us to, without judgment, without fearing that our words, our story might overbalance them. It is not trying to protect them from us.
(N.B. I quite like this excerpt ��� I was so caught up writing it on the banks of Venice that I got a touch of hypothermia, sometimes an artist must suffer a wee bit for their art.)
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Upcoming Events
Watch this space - but plans are underway for an event in Paris mid September.
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click here to get my newsletter emailed to you direct http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For upcoming events please see the bottom of the email - please note I am no longer teaching weekly Zumba classes, although may have some retreats and masterclasses coming soon! Anything is possible.
My Beloved Friends,
Well, unfortunately I haven't been able to access my emails to reply to anything you've sent me after my last newsletter ��� I'm just in Cornwall at the moment, trying to see it before the school holiday masses descend (although it seems pretty full, I stayed two nights in almost the last bed in a female dorm in a hostel in Penzance and then last night in a four star luxury spa hotel near St Austell ��� it's heaven ��� especially after a stay in a hostel!) but still finding it difficult to get my internet connection!
It's hard for people (and even me) to understand why I do what I do, but it all works out in the end and it's bringing me back to the truth of who I am, not just a writer but being able to let go of so many things I've picked up in my life that are just not me.
But I also see that the travelling, even the writing is becoming more of a distraction, an addiction, from the next steps of the journey. I can feel it with travelling, it's when it starts to feel like just sightseeing or my heart pulls me on even if my brain says "Stay, it's wonderful here." I know I definitely have to go back to some of the places I've been, especially Hawaii. (There's a noise Monica makes in "Friends" about a guy ��� something like "hum un un unu" as in, "he's super hot" ��� that's how I feel about Hawaii.) Or sometimes my heart says "Stay" even though there are a hundred places I want to head to ��� and a little while later I know I was in the right place at the right time. But the books are not enough ��� and I hope you see that from what I write below, it���s like the Zumba manual or a DVD, there is absolutely nothing in this word like a live class ��� and that's what I need to bring to the world ��� a love class (oh wait that was a typo but it works!)���
So anyway, I got the proof for my new book last week (the second in the series if you don't count the prequel), so yes, I'll be working on printing that, but I'll also be working on my book tour and maybe some retreats too. It's about time I opened up my heart to fellow travellers like I did in the hostel the other day (but I may not be sharing with four other people anytime soon ��� that's a lot of people noises in the night!) although it was wonderful to meet so many friendly and interesting people there!
If you really want to get in touch with me, feel free to text me on 07770 846 284, I'm coming back from my sabbatical now (although I may be doing one more long haul before September so I apologise for any radio silence!)
Speak soon.
Lots of love, Pearl x
The Top Of The Mountain
As I sat on the top of the mountain at Lumeria in Maui I understood and felt the truth about what it is to love and be loved. I sat on the grass and meditated overlooking the sea and reached a point, a top of the mountain of feeling and being that was the highest I have yet experienced.
To try to put it in to words is to describe a meditation of enlightenment with the words "we are all one". If, in just saying these words, we could understood and feel this deep truth, well, pretty much all the retreat and meditation centres, not to mention yoga schools, bars and spas would go out of business. These are just words.
It is like me, standing now in Venice, telling you it's pretty, showing you my photographs, when I want you standing beside me, feeling the cold biting through your fingertips, the rush of hot coffee and Sicilian cannoli in your blood, the images of waterways burned into your retina as well as a hot pocket full of iPhone snaps. I want you to know what it is to wander dark streets, see black gondolas smacking against the waves in the night, to see the night reflected in tiny dank canals that hold no comfort before the dawn, when thoughts turn to bodies dropped out of windows and figures shrouded and masked for carnival, to know what it is to walk and find yourself in the right place all but for a few yards of canal with no bridge and to know you need to shoulder your bag, your life and retrace all those steps to get back to the place that you took a wrong turn. To feel the energy of a thousand artists honouring beauty, feel their passion for life till it makes you dizzy and a thousand murderers and ghosts that wake you up before dawn playing with your darkest fears. This is Venice. It is as far removed from the Venice of Las Vegas as your whole life and every breath you ever took from your last ID snapshot.
I will try.
I believe it's important and I believe that many of my teachers have tried to explain it to me, and I have learned it over and over, each time getting closer and closer to that moment.
As Mother Theresa said "There are things that cannot be seen or touched but must be felt with the heart."
I sat and meditated on the life of my beloved.
I had felt, travelling to Hawaii, the deep lie at the bottom of so many of my fears, of my refusals - like a horse refusing to jump when I could so easily have soared. I felt the deepest acceptance of myself just as I was in that moment. I have heard it said about grief that acceptance comes when we can see that death not as a life interrupted but as a life completed. I could see the journey of our relationship as completed because of where it brought me, but I could only arrive at this moment by accepting myself, himself and that relationship as perfect and complete. The butterfly had metamorphosed from the caterpillar, crawling through the most painful and messy period of transition, of meltdown and being both less and more than a single being and then become a thing of lightness and joy. I could see his life and him, not as something to be fixed or corrected, but as perfect, I could feel that every step he took was perfect.
This is love. To see each other, our most precious soulmate and the stranger smoking or drunk on the street, in the same way that we can know "we are all connected", to know "they are perfect and every step they take is perfect.��� It is letting go, in a way, but more than holding on or letting go it is finding a perfect balance, pona if you will, of holding a person in our heart without in any way trying to change them. Because we would be trying to improve on perfection. It would be like paving Venice or fixing every battered shuttered window or straightening the canals, or covering the sky and painting it a perfect sunny fresco like a Vegas Venice.
And it is sharing ourselves, our dark, our light, our stories with them when our heart tells us to, without judgment, without fearing that our words, our story might overbalance them. It is not trying to protect them from us.
(N.B. I quite like this excerpt ��� I was so caught up writing it on the banks of Venice that I got a touch of hypothermia, sometimes an artist must suffer a wee bit for their art.)
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Upcoming Events
Watch this space - but plans are underway for an event in Paris mid September.
October 24, 2016
Weekly Newsletter - Safe Hands
Instantly know what I���m doing on Instagram
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Please note, I will only be publishing some of my newsletters to my blog in future, so please click here to get it emailed to you direct! http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For the timetable please see the bottom of the email
Dear friends,
Sorry for the late newsletter but that���s because I have just... right now... got confirmation of all of the lovely Zumba Instructors who are going to be taking over my classes! Phew - I couldn���t rest easy until I knew you were in safe hands.
My last classes will be Monday 31st October 12-12:45pm (followed by lunch in Arthurs - please do get in touch if you want to come along as it is going to be a tight squeeze - participants only please), Tuesday 1-1:45pm and we will have a special Halloween/leaving party that evening at Vestry Hall 6-8:15pm with some treats and maybe some tricks ;)
...and then finally Thursday 3rd November 7:15-8pm and I may just have to go across the street to the tapas bar for a little ���pot��� as we used to call it in Paris.
Please remember I can���t expect the instructors to keep up my reward programme - so as a special leaving present to you guys IF YOU HAVE ANY REWARD CARD - even if it���s not completed - YOU CAN HAND IT IN TO ME IN CLASS FOR A REWARD THIS MONTH! (It���ll also help me clear out my stock of rewards!!) First come first served!!!
This weekend I had the privilege of doing a presentation to the Women Against MS Group - I was so nervous as it was the first time doing something like this... not a Zumba Gold chair class (I���ve done hundreds) but something different. My goal was not just to show people (it never is) what Zumba Gold is, but to get them to feel it, to do it before they could start to believe they couldn���t do it, and then... not just that, but to have them experience that they could do it for themselves, without me (seriously, by the end of each song I had my hands behind my back - to show them they didn���t need me) and finally... to use all my experiences... my own experience of not being able to use my muscles properly... taking my ZIN training... Zumba Convention and the incredibly inspiring disabled instructors I���ve met... all to inspire anyone there who might actually want to become a Zumba Instructor. (And I���m not even on commission.)
It went good.
As much as I love teaching classes, and I don���t think I���ll ever quit being an instructor, I feel like there is so much more I want to do - I want to inspire others to teach, especially people who keep telling themselves ���I���m too old, too unfit, disabled...��� I want to inspire people to travel, to escape, to do whatever it is they dream of, whatever they���ve got into a habit of telling themselves they can���t do. And after Saturday I���m pretty sure I can.
���Dear Pearl. What a great performance, demo' and experience yesterday! I think you definitely inspired the ladies (and a couple of chaps), with your Zumba yesterday. Every one joined in - there was arms a waving, bodies a twisting and in some cases foot tapping. Your chat was such that although MS was in the room, no one saw it! Loved the stories and the physicals. Only trouble is "that you are moving away" ;-(.�� Thank you once again - you made people who thought they couldn't feel they could - and they did! :-D All the best for your future. Carol (WOMEN AGAINST MS - LONDON)���
Lots of love, Pearl x
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Congratulations!
Congratulations to everyone who completed reward cards this week!
Sue completed 5 classes, fancy that!
Colette completed 5 classes, fantabulous!
Maureen completed 5 classes, fabulous!
Debbie completed 5 classes, furious feet!
Helen completed 5 classes, fantastic job!
Diana completed 8 classes, excellent!
Margaret completed 15 classes, fancy that!
Jane completed 15 classes, feel the burn!
Robyn completed 20 classes, take a bow!
Jill completed 24 classes, takes the cake!
Isabel completed 35 classes, that���s amazing!
Mary completed 39 classes, that���s how you do it!
Anita completed 39 classes, thrilling!
Meta completed 39 classes, thar she goes!
Amelia completed 71 classes, sexy and you know it!
Mary completed 80 classes, excellent!
Sally completed 88 classes, ebullient feet!
Julie completed 100 classes, what a star!
Jenny completed 100 classes, wowza!
Helen completed 116 classes, what a feat!
Chris completed 145 classes, what dedication!
Therese completed 148 classes, what fun!
Nicola completed 177 classes, what a wonder!
Well done and thank you so much for coming to class!
Lots of love, Pearl xx
Monday 31st October 2016
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
6 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness��Halloween/Leaving Do Vestry Hall�� ��6 before 7pm, ��7 after 7pm
Thursday
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
From Monday 7th November 2016
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
Class taught by Jodie Hay
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
Class taught by Norma
7:15 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall�� ��7
Class taught by Selina
Thursday
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
Class taught by Jasmine
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Please note, I will only be publishing some of my newsletters to my blog in future, so please click here to get it emailed to you direct! http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For the timetable please see the bottom of the email
Dear friends,
Sorry for the late newsletter but that���s because I have just... right now... got confirmation of all of the lovely Zumba Instructors who are going to be taking over my classes! Phew - I couldn���t rest easy until I knew you were in safe hands.
My last classes will be Monday 31st October 12-12:45pm (followed by lunch in Arthurs - please do get in touch if you want to come along as it is going to be a tight squeeze - participants only please), Tuesday 1-1:45pm and we will have a special Halloween/leaving party that evening at Vestry Hall 6-8:15pm with some treats and maybe some tricks ;)
...and then finally Thursday 3rd November 7:15-8pm and I may just have to go across the street to the tapas bar for a little ���pot��� as we used to call it in Paris.
Please remember I can���t expect the instructors to keep up my reward programme - so as a special leaving present to you guys IF YOU HAVE ANY REWARD CARD - even if it���s not completed - YOU CAN HAND IT IN TO ME IN CLASS FOR A REWARD THIS MONTH! (It���ll also help me clear out my stock of rewards!!) First come first served!!!
This weekend I had the privilege of doing a presentation to the Women Against MS Group - I was so nervous as it was the first time doing something like this... not a Zumba Gold chair class (I���ve done hundreds) but something different. My goal was not just to show people (it never is) what Zumba Gold is, but to get them to feel it, to do it before they could start to believe they couldn���t do it, and then... not just that, but to have them experience that they could do it for themselves, without me (seriously, by the end of each song I had my hands behind my back - to show them they didn���t need me) and finally... to use all my experiences... my own experience of not being able to use my muscles properly... taking my ZIN training... Zumba Convention and the incredibly inspiring disabled instructors I���ve met... all to inspire anyone there who might actually want to become a Zumba Instructor. (And I���m not even on commission.)
It went good.
As much as I love teaching classes, and I don���t think I���ll ever quit being an instructor, I feel like there is so much more I want to do - I want to inspire others to teach, especially people who keep telling themselves ���I���m too old, too unfit, disabled...��� I want to inspire people to travel, to escape, to do whatever it is they dream of, whatever they���ve got into a habit of telling themselves they can���t do. And after Saturday I���m pretty sure I can.
���Dear Pearl. What a great performance, demo' and experience yesterday! I think you definitely inspired the ladies (and a couple of chaps), with your Zumba yesterday. Every one joined in - there was arms a waving, bodies a twisting and in some cases foot tapping. Your chat was such that although MS was in the room, no one saw it! Loved the stories and the physicals. Only trouble is "that you are moving away" ;-(.�� Thank you once again - you made people who thought they couldn't feel they could - and they did! :-D All the best for your future. Carol (WOMEN AGAINST MS - LONDON)���
Lots of love, Pearl x
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Congratulations!
Congratulations to everyone who completed reward cards this week!
Sue completed 5 classes, fancy that!
Colette completed 5 classes, fantabulous!
Maureen completed 5 classes, fabulous!
Debbie completed 5 classes, furious feet!
Helen completed 5 classes, fantastic job!
Diana completed 8 classes, excellent!
Margaret completed 15 classes, fancy that!
Jane completed 15 classes, feel the burn!
Robyn completed 20 classes, take a bow!
Jill completed 24 classes, takes the cake!
Isabel completed 35 classes, that���s amazing!
Mary completed 39 classes, that���s how you do it!
Anita completed 39 classes, thrilling!
Meta completed 39 classes, thar she goes!
Amelia completed 71 classes, sexy and you know it!
Mary completed 80 classes, excellent!
Sally completed 88 classes, ebullient feet!
Julie completed 100 classes, what a star!
Jenny completed 100 classes, wowza!
Helen completed 116 classes, what a feat!
Chris completed 145 classes, what dedication!
Therese completed 148 classes, what fun!
Nicola completed 177 classes, what a wonder!
Well done and thank you so much for coming to class!
Lots of love, Pearl xx
Monday 31st October 2016
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
6 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness��Halloween/Leaving Do Vestry Hall�� ��6 before 7pm, ��7 after 7pm
Thursday
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
From Monday 7th November 2016
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
Class taught by Jodie Hay
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
Class taught by Norma
7:15 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall�� ��7
Class taught by Selina
Thursday
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
Class taught by Jasmine
October 11, 2016
Weekly Newsletter - One Day I���ll Fly Away
Instantly know what I���m doing on Instagram
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click to subscribe to my weekly class newsletter http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For the timetable please see the bottom of the email
Dear friends,
Yes, ���One Day I���ll Fly Away��� and that day is going to be 3rd November, when I���ll be teaching my last class (for the time being) in Wimbledon.
It���s time for me to take a gap year, have a midlife crisis, go traveling, find myself (or rather get to know myself again after finding myself), whatever you want to call it.
I���m working hard to find instructors to take over my classes and will keep you posted (and also let you know about leaving dos!) I can���t expect them to keep up my reward programme though - so as a special leaving present to you guys IF YOU HAVE ANY REWARD CARD - even if it���s not completed - YOU CAN HAND IT IN TO ME IN CLASS FOR A REWARD THIS MONTH! (It���ll also help me clear out my stock of rewards!!)
I will keep sending out my newsletter - but more sporadically and it may not always be posted here on my blog, so to follow my travels please follow me on Instagram (check out my home page where you can see the photos even if you don���t have Instagram!)
You never know, there may be some more books, videos, maybe even Zumba retreats around the world - so please do stay in touch!
I���m not ready to say goodbye properly - there���ll be tears in my last week I���m sure!
Lots of love, Pearl x
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Congratulations!
Congratulations to everyone who completed reward cards this week!
Diana completed 5 classes, fancy that!
Anita completed 35 classes, that���s amazing!
Well done and thank you so much for coming to class!
Lots of love, Pearl xx
Saturday 15th October 2016
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
1 - 1:45pm Zumba Gold�� chair class Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��3
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
6 - 6:45pm�� Zumba Gold�� �� Vestry Hall, London Rd, Mitcham, CR4 3UD �� �����6
7:15 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall�� ��7
Thursday
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click to subscribe to my weekly class newsletter http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For the timetable please see the bottom of the email
Dear friends,
Yes, ���One Day I���ll Fly Away��� and that day is going to be 3rd November, when I���ll be teaching my last class (for the time being) in Wimbledon.
It���s time for me to take a gap year, have a midlife crisis, go traveling, find myself (or rather get to know myself again after finding myself), whatever you want to call it.
I���m working hard to find instructors to take over my classes and will keep you posted (and also let you know about leaving dos!) I can���t expect them to keep up my reward programme though - so as a special leaving present to you guys IF YOU HAVE ANY REWARD CARD - even if it���s not completed - YOU CAN HAND IT IN TO ME IN CLASS FOR A REWARD THIS MONTH! (It���ll also help me clear out my stock of rewards!!)
I will keep sending out my newsletter - but more sporadically and it may not always be posted here on my blog, so to follow my travels please follow me on Instagram (check out my home page where you can see the photos even if you don���t have Instagram!)
You never know, there may be some more books, videos, maybe even Zumba retreats around the world - so please do stay in touch!
I���m not ready to say goodbye properly - there���ll be tears in my last week I���m sure!
Lots of love, Pearl x
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Congratulations!
Congratulations to everyone who completed reward cards this week!
Diana completed 5 classes, fancy that!
Anita completed 35 classes, that���s amazing!
Well done and thank you so much for coming to class!
Lots of love, Pearl xx
Saturday 15th October 2016
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
1 - 1:45pm Zumba Gold�� chair class Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��3
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
6 - 6:45pm�� Zumba Gold�� �� Vestry Hall, London Rd, Mitcham, CR4 3UD �� �����6
7:15 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall�� ��7
Thursday
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
October 4, 2016
Weekly Newsletter - Special Giveaway Offer of Skin Care Products
Instantly know what I���m doing on Instagram
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click to subscribe to my weekly class newsletter http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For the timetable please see the bottom of the email
Hey there,
Thanks so much to everyone who came along last week to my evening event at Cannizaro Park - I met some really interesting people and learned a lot myself last Wednesday!
Recently I���ve been reminded how, whenever I step outside my comfort zone I meet those people - people who I feel I was destined to meet, who have either been on the same journey as me, who are coming from where I���m going, the other way around or sometimes even all three. Those kind of meetings reassure me and build my faith that I am on the right path for me, and heading in the right direction.
Special Giveaway Offer of Skin Care Products
This month one of my articles is being featured by WHYTT Magazine
Why Do Creatives Struggle
and there���s also a competition to win skin care products from their sponsor - hey you get to try out something before me! Just follow @ermanaskincare on Twitter to be entered into the draw (ends 17th October 2016)
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Amelia who completed 65 classes last week, so wonderful!
Well done and thank you so much for coming to class!
Lots of love, Pearl xx
Saturday 8th October 2016
Saturday
10 ��� 11am�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall ��7 ��
No Class - this class is now closed
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
1 - 1:45pm Zumba Gold�� chair class Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��3
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
6 - 6:45pm�� Zumba Gold�� �� Vestry Hall, London Rd, Mitcham, CR4 3UD �� �����6
7:15 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall�� ��7
Thursday
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click to subscribe to my weekly class newsletter http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For the timetable please see the bottom of the email
Hey there,
Thanks so much to everyone who came along last week to my evening event at Cannizaro Park - I met some really interesting people and learned a lot myself last Wednesday!
Recently I���ve been reminded how, whenever I step outside my comfort zone I meet those people - people who I feel I was destined to meet, who have either been on the same journey as me, who are coming from where I���m going, the other way around or sometimes even all three. Those kind of meetings reassure me and build my faith that I am on the right path for me, and heading in the right direction.
Special Giveaway Offer of Skin Care Products
This month one of my articles is being featured by WHYTT Magazine
Why Do Creatives Struggle
and there���s also a competition to win skin care products from their sponsor - hey you get to try out something before me! Just follow @ermanaskincare on Twitter to be entered into the draw (ends 17th October 2016)
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Amelia who completed 65 classes last week, so wonderful!
Well done and thank you so much for coming to class!
Lots of love, Pearl xx
Saturday 8th October 2016
Saturday
10 ��� 11am�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall ��7 ��
No Class - this class is now closed
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
1 - 1:45pm Zumba Gold�� chair class Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��3
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
6 - 6:45pm�� Zumba Gold�� �� Vestry Hall, London Rd, Mitcham, CR4 3UD �� �����6
7:15 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall�� ��7
Thursday
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
September 26, 2016
Weekly Newsletter - Goodbye to Saturdays and Reminder - Evening Event - Wednesday 28th September at Cannizaro Park & House
Instantly know what I���m doing on Instagram
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click to subscribe to my weekly class newsletter http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For the timetable please see the bottom of the email
Well, that���s all folks for Saturdays,
It���s been over five years but sadly numbers have dropped so much that I can���t keep the Saturday morning running any longer. Although I was very sad to say goodbye (see my little video goodbye on YouTube) I really feel that everything happens for a reason. In the summer holidays when I decided to put the class on hold because of low numbers, well, the very next week I was staying with my family and we had a bit of an emergency in the middle of the night, so I was exactly where I was supposed to be. It���s all happening perfectly.
Evening Event - Wednesday 28th September at Cannizaro Park & House
You are cordially invited to a Book Picnic on Wednesday 28th September. We���ll start at 5pm to make the most of the lovely weather (hopefully), pass by the back of Cannizaro House every hour or so to find anyone who turns up later and then head into the bar around 8pm. It���s so silly that I didn���t think of it sooner as I had my big five year anniversary event here last year, but this will be a much more casual evening (although still feel free to dress up - it���s a glamorous venue).
The event is completely free (you can bring whatever you want to eat and drink in the park and then pay for your own cocktails in the bar).
It���s also the night before Wimbledon Bookfest begins, so although it���s not officially part of the festival it certainly feels like the right place at the right time!
I���m also looking for more speaking opportunities (I may even have to go inside as the weather gets colder, which is a real shame!) so give me a holler if you have an existing group that would like someone to give a talk.
Book Catalogue
Check out my full list of books available here (you should still be able to buy or download them all from your favourite website... iTunes/Amazon/nook).
New for free: The very first Spa Treatment guide that I published is now available for free. (I���ve also just finished editing the 2017 guide which is a monster and includes the incredible Thoachta Native American healing in Arizona.)
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Congratulations!
Congratulations to everyone who completed reward cards recently!
Miranda completed 15 classes, fantastic!
Sarah completed 15 classes, fabulous!
Sue completed 65 classes, so wonderful!
Julie completed 100 classes, what a way to go!
Well done and thank you so much for coming to class!
Lots of love, Pearl xx
Saturday 1st October 2016
Saturday
10 ��� 11am�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall ��7 ��
No Class - this class is now closed
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
1 - 1:45pm Zumba Gold�� chair class Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��3
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
6 - 6:45pm�� Zumba Gold�� �� Vestry Hall, London Rd, Mitcham, CR4 3UD �� �����6
7:15 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall�� ��7
Thursday
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click to subscribe to my weekly class newsletter http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For the timetable please see the bottom of the email
Well, that���s all folks for Saturdays,
It���s been over five years but sadly numbers have dropped so much that I can���t keep the Saturday morning running any longer. Although I was very sad to say goodbye (see my little video goodbye on YouTube) I really feel that everything happens for a reason. In the summer holidays when I decided to put the class on hold because of low numbers, well, the very next week I was staying with my family and we had a bit of an emergency in the middle of the night, so I was exactly where I was supposed to be. It���s all happening perfectly.
Evening Event - Wednesday 28th September at Cannizaro Park & House
You are cordially invited to a Book Picnic on Wednesday 28th September. We���ll start at 5pm to make the most of the lovely weather (hopefully), pass by the back of Cannizaro House every hour or so to find anyone who turns up later and then head into the bar around 8pm. It���s so silly that I didn���t think of it sooner as I had my big five year anniversary event here last year, but this will be a much more casual evening (although still feel free to dress up - it���s a glamorous venue).
The event is completely free (you can bring whatever you want to eat and drink in the park and then pay for your own cocktails in the bar).
It���s also the night before Wimbledon Bookfest begins, so although it���s not officially part of the festival it certainly feels like the right place at the right time!
I���m also looking for more speaking opportunities (I may even have to go inside as the weather gets colder, which is a real shame!) so give me a holler if you have an existing group that would like someone to give a talk.
Book Catalogue
Check out my full list of books available here (you should still be able to buy or download them all from your favourite website... iTunes/Amazon/nook).
New for free: The very first Spa Treatment guide that I published is now available for free. (I���ve also just finished editing the 2017 guide which is a monster and includes the incredible Thoachta Native American healing in Arizona.)
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Congratulations!
Congratulations to everyone who completed reward cards recently!
Miranda completed 15 classes, fantastic!
Sarah completed 15 classes, fabulous!
Sue completed 65 classes, so wonderful!
Julie completed 100 classes, what a way to go!
Well done and thank you so much for coming to class!
Lots of love, Pearl xx
Saturday 1st October 2016
Saturday
10 ��� 11am�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall ��7 ��
No Class - this class is now closed
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
1 - 1:45pm Zumba Gold�� chair class Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��3
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
6 - 6:45pm�� Zumba Gold�� �� Vestry Hall, London Rd, Mitcham, CR4 3UD �� �����6
7:15 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall�� ��7
Thursday
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
September 13, 2016
Weekly Newsletter - Evening Event - Wednesday 28th September at Cannizaro Park & House
Instantly know what I���m doing on Instagram
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click to subscribe to my weekly class newsletter http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For the timetable please see the bottom of the email
Hi there,
After some lovely daytime Book Picnics in various parks I���ve been trying to think of somewhere to do an evening event for anyone who can���t make daytimes. Of course it was staring me in the face - Cannizaro Park, which is one of the most beautiful parks in London, open until dusk (around 8pm at the moment) and also has a stunning bar for cocktails after dark (or if it rains).
So you are cordially invited to a Book Picnic on Wednesday 28th September. We���ll start at 5pm to make the most of the lovely weather (hopefully), pass by the back of Cannizaro House every hour or so to find anyone who turns up later and then head into the bar around 8pm. It���s so silly that I didn���t think of it sooner as I had my big five year anniversary event here last year, but this will be a much more casual evening (although still feel free to dress up - it���s a glamorous venue).
The event is completely free (you can bring whatever you want to eat and drink in the park and then pay for your own cocktails in the bar).
And hopefully this time I���ll have some books (my last order didn���t show up until after the last picnic - I have learned to always keep one copy back!) It���s also the night before Wimbledon Bookfest begins, so although it���s not officially part of the festival it certainly feels like the right place at the right time!
I���m also looking for more speaking opportunities (I may even have to go inside as the weather gets colder, which is a real shame!) so give me a holler if you have an existing group that would like someone to give a talk.
Free Books!
Wow! I thought I had had a good response to my free eBooks... what I hadn���t realised was that all those downloaded on the Kindle in August didn���t show up on my report until a week into September - oh my goodness! The reports don���t show who downloaded what, but if you downloaded and especially if you bought my books on Kindle then thank you so very much! I had to sit there for a bit with my jaw wide open until it sank in! Thank you so much!
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Congratulations!
Congratulations to everyone who completed reward cards recently!
Meta completed 35 classes, that���s incredible!
Jan completed 100 classes, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
Well done!
Lots of love, Pearl xx
Saturday 17th September 2016
Saturday
10 ��� 11am�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall ��7 ��
Class is back as normal
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
1 - 1:45pm Zumba Gold�� chair class Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��3
8:15pm - 9:15pm �� Zumba�� Fitness�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��7 CLASS
I���m sorry but I have decided not to restart this class as it has always been very up and down with numbers. I do hope you understand.
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
6 - 6:45pm�� Zumba Gold�� �� Vestry Hall, London Rd, Mitcham, CR4 3UD �� �����6
7:15 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall�� ��7
Thursday
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click to subscribe to my weekly class newsletter http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For the timetable please see the bottom of the email
Hi there,
After some lovely daytime Book Picnics in various parks I���ve been trying to think of somewhere to do an evening event for anyone who can���t make daytimes. Of course it was staring me in the face - Cannizaro Park, which is one of the most beautiful parks in London, open until dusk (around 8pm at the moment) and also has a stunning bar for cocktails after dark (or if it rains).
So you are cordially invited to a Book Picnic on Wednesday 28th September. We���ll start at 5pm to make the most of the lovely weather (hopefully), pass by the back of Cannizaro House every hour or so to find anyone who turns up later and then head into the bar around 8pm. It���s so silly that I didn���t think of it sooner as I had my big five year anniversary event here last year, but this will be a much more casual evening (although still feel free to dress up - it���s a glamorous venue).
The event is completely free (you can bring whatever you want to eat and drink in the park and then pay for your own cocktails in the bar).
And hopefully this time I���ll have some books (my last order didn���t show up until after the last picnic - I have learned to always keep one copy back!) It���s also the night before Wimbledon Bookfest begins, so although it���s not officially part of the festival it certainly feels like the right place at the right time!
I���m also looking for more speaking opportunities (I may even have to go inside as the weather gets colder, which is a real shame!) so give me a holler if you have an existing group that would like someone to give a talk.
Free Books!
Wow! I thought I had had a good response to my free eBooks... what I hadn���t realised was that all those downloaded on the Kindle in August didn���t show up on my report until a week into September - oh my goodness! The reports don���t show who downloaded what, but if you downloaded and especially if you bought my books on Kindle then thank you so very much! I had to sit there for a bit with my jaw wide open until it sank in! Thank you so much!
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Congratulations!
Congratulations to everyone who completed reward cards recently!
Meta completed 35 classes, that���s incredible!
Jan completed 100 classes, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
Well done!
Lots of love, Pearl xx
Saturday 17th September 2016
Saturday
10 ��� 11am�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall ��7 ��
Class is back as normal
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
1 - 1:45pm Zumba Gold�� chair class Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��3
8:15pm - 9:15pm �� Zumba�� Fitness�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��7 CLASS
I���m sorry but I have decided not to restart this class as it has always been very up and down with numbers. I do hope you understand.
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
6 - 6:45pm�� Zumba Gold�� �� Vestry Hall, London Rd, Mitcham, CR4 3UD �� �����6
7:15 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall�� ��7
Thursday
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
August 23, 2016
Weekly Newsletter - SOLD OUT! So much fun I���m doing it again!
Instantly know what I���m doing on Instagram
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click to subscribe to my weekly class newsletter http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For the timetable please see the bottom of the email
Hey everyone,
Thank you so much to everyone who turned up to my Book Launch Picnic - I really had no idea if anyone would turn up (much like my classes!) so was delighted to see you and absolutely blown away that you bought all the books and asked for more. Yes, I sold out the copies and have to try to get some more in (this print on demand lark is a little tricky!)
The official time of the picnic was just 10-11am, but we stayed and talked in a really relaxed way about the book, the ideas and the message for the rest of the day (not that this will happen every time).
It was such a great experience that I���ve decided to do it again - this time also as a little thank you and goodbye to my Thursday lunchtime Wimbledon Guild class the week after we finish (last class is this week).
So, if you fancy joining us (everyone is welcome) we���ll be in a different park - South Park Gardens in Wimbledon on Thursday 1st September 12-1pm.
As before, feel free to bring your own refreshments or you can buy stuff on the day from the new cafe that���s just opened in the park - there are also very nice toilets so it should be a civilised affair (depending on the weather).
I���m hoping to have more copies of the book on hand, but if you know you definitely want one, please do let me know. Normally they take about a week to get to me but they are a bit slow at the moment!
I���m also looking for an evening venue to do a similar event - I���d love it to be outside but a lot of the parks close early - does anyone have a lovely big garden where they���d be happy to host a sunset picnic? Numbers entirely at your discretion. Just give me a holler (or if you have an existing group that would like someone to give a talk I���d love to hear from you.)
Free Books!
Yes, my quick guides to Barcelona, Marrakech, Croatia and China - Hong Kong, Yangshuo, Shanghai, Huangshan and Beijing are all available now as FREEE!!!!! eBooks on Kindle, iTunes and other eBook readers. (Somebody did think when they saw my new book ���free Feeling Real Emotions Everyday��� that it was also free - sorry for any confusion!)
My new guide to Swimming With Wild Manatees, one of the most incredible escapes I���ve ever done, is out now! It also covers the nearby manatee rescue park, great ���fountain of youth��� spa in Safety Harbor, flying into Tampa (the best entry airport to the States I���ve experienced) and also Clearwater with its dolphin cruise, wild dolphins and dolphin rescue centre - so two incredible wild animal and rescue animal centres (I���m not big on animals in captivity that don���t need to be there - I like my animals FREEEE!!! too.)
My next eBook will be the story of my recent 2016 Las Vegas trip (yes, I love Vegas! and I found the perfect hotel and two exceptional spas!) and I���m also working on publishing my new book direct to iTunes.
When I first started Pearl Escapes it was my goal to share exactly what you needed to know to book a fabulous escape in each location - just one hotel, restaurant, spa, massage... so that if you were confused or burnt out it would be easy to follow. It���s only taken me six years for the penny to drop that this is what we do with Zumba, just three basic moves each song to make it easy to follow! How often do we miss the thing that is staring us right in the face!?
Other guides which are available from 99p are Chianciano Terme in Tuscany, Paris with Kids, Iceland, the New Forest, the Lake District, New York, spas and escapes in England and Wales, Bath Spa, London spas and my Florida 2013 escapes (Orlando, Clearwater, Naples, Key Largo and Vero Beach).
I hope you check out the books and please do let me know what you think (please, please write reviews and give the books some stars on the site where you download the books!)
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Congratulations!
Congratulations to everyone who completed reward cards recently!
Irene completed 15 classes, flamenco a go go!
Jackie completed 160 classes, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
Well done!
Lots of love, Pearl xx
Saturday 27th August 2016
Saturday
10 ��� 11am�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall ��7 ��
NO CLASS this week - back on 10th September
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
Class running as normal apart from Bank Holiday Monday when there is no class
1 - 1:45pm Zumba Gold�� chair class Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��3
Class running as normal apart from Bank Holiday Monday when there is no class
8:15pm - 9:15pm �� Zumba�� Fitness�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��7 CLASS CANCELLED
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
6 - 6:45pm�� Zumba Gold�� �� Vestry Hall, London Rd, Mitcham, CR4 3UD �� �����6
7:15 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall�� ��7
Thursday
12 ��� 12:45pm �� Zumba Gold�� �� Wimbledon Guild, Drake House,��44 St. George's Road, Wimbledon, SW19 4ED �� �� ��5
CLASS running until the end of August and then closing
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
For up to minute news check out my Facebook
Or follow me on Twitter
Click to subscribe to my weekly class newsletter http://eepurl.com/U3C3T
For the timetable please see the bottom of the email
Hey everyone,
Thank you so much to everyone who turned up to my Book Launch Picnic - I really had no idea if anyone would turn up (much like my classes!) so was delighted to see you and absolutely blown away that you bought all the books and asked for more. Yes, I sold out the copies and have to try to get some more in (this print on demand lark is a little tricky!)
The official time of the picnic was just 10-11am, but we stayed and talked in a really relaxed way about the book, the ideas and the message for the rest of the day (not that this will happen every time).
It was such a great experience that I���ve decided to do it again - this time also as a little thank you and goodbye to my Thursday lunchtime Wimbledon Guild class the week after we finish (last class is this week).
So, if you fancy joining us (everyone is welcome) we���ll be in a different park - South Park Gardens in Wimbledon on Thursday 1st September 12-1pm.
As before, feel free to bring your own refreshments or you can buy stuff on the day from the new cafe that���s just opened in the park - there are also very nice toilets so it should be a civilised affair (depending on the weather).
I���m hoping to have more copies of the book on hand, but if you know you definitely want one, please do let me know. Normally they take about a week to get to me but they are a bit slow at the moment!
I���m also looking for an evening venue to do a similar event - I���d love it to be outside but a lot of the parks close early - does anyone have a lovely big garden where they���d be happy to host a sunset picnic? Numbers entirely at your discretion. Just give me a holler (or if you have an existing group that would like someone to give a talk I���d love to hear from you.)
Free Books!
Yes, my quick guides to Barcelona, Marrakech, Croatia and China - Hong Kong, Yangshuo, Shanghai, Huangshan and Beijing are all available now as FREEE!!!!! eBooks on Kindle, iTunes and other eBook readers. (Somebody did think when they saw my new book ���free Feeling Real Emotions Everyday��� that it was also free - sorry for any confusion!)
My new guide to Swimming With Wild Manatees, one of the most incredible escapes I���ve ever done, is out now! It also covers the nearby manatee rescue park, great ���fountain of youth��� spa in Safety Harbor, flying into Tampa (the best entry airport to the States I���ve experienced) and also Clearwater with its dolphin cruise, wild dolphins and dolphin rescue centre - so two incredible wild animal and rescue animal centres (I���m not big on animals in captivity that don���t need to be there - I like my animals FREEEE!!! too.)
My next eBook will be the story of my recent 2016 Las Vegas trip (yes, I love Vegas! and I found the perfect hotel and two exceptional spas!) and I���m also working on publishing my new book direct to iTunes.
When I first started Pearl Escapes it was my goal to share exactly what you needed to know to book a fabulous escape in each location - just one hotel, restaurant, spa, massage... so that if you were confused or burnt out it would be easy to follow. It���s only taken me six years for the penny to drop that this is what we do with Zumba, just three basic moves each song to make it easy to follow! How often do we miss the thing that is staring us right in the face!?
Other guides which are available from 99p are Chianciano Terme in Tuscany, Paris with Kids, Iceland, the New Forest, the Lake District, New York, spas and escapes in England and Wales, Bath Spa, London spas and my Florida 2013 escapes (Orlando, Clearwater, Naples, Key Largo and Vero Beach).
I hope you check out the books and please do let me know what you think (please, please write reviews and give the books some stars on the site where you download the books!)
Pearl's Instagram Feed - Lots of Photos Now On My Homepage!
http://www.pearlescapes.co.uk/index.html
Congratulations!
Congratulations to everyone who completed reward cards recently!
Irene completed 15 classes, flamenco a go go!
Jackie completed 160 classes, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
Well done!
Lots of love, Pearl xx
Saturday 27th August 2016
Saturday
10 ��� 11am�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall ��7 ��
NO CLASS this week - back on 10th September
Monday
12 - 12:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
Class running as normal apart from Bank Holiday Monday when there is no class
1 - 1:45pm Zumba Gold�� chair class Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��3
Class running as normal apart from Bank Holiday Monday when there is no class
8:15pm - 9:15pm �� Zumba�� Fitness�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��7 CLASS CANCELLED
Tuesday
1:00 - 1:45pm�� Zumba Gold���� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
6 - 6:45pm�� Zumba Gold�� �� Vestry Hall, London Rd, Mitcham, CR4 3UD �� �����6
7:15 ��� 8:15pm�� Zumba�� Fitness�� Vestry Hall�� ��7
Thursday
12 ��� 12:45pm �� Zumba Gold�� �� Wimbledon Guild, Drake House,��44 St. George's Road, Wimbledon, SW19 4ED �� �� ��5
CLASS running until the end of August and then closing
7:15 - 8pm�� Zumba�� Gold�� Wimbledon Park Hall�� ��6
